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Food, family and memories are as intertwined in the South as if woven on the same thread. At any function we attend, from a party to a wedding to a funeral, we are as likely to talk as much about the food that was there, as we are about why we are gathered. ~Mary Foreman

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Saturday, October 9, 2010

White beans, seasoned with the Trinity, garlic, green onion, parsley, bacon and andouille sausage, and served over white rice.

Cajun White Beans with Andouille

I always have to chuckle when I make these Cajun White Beans because I swear, leave it to us southerners to take a product called Great Northern beans and turn them into a well loved Cajun dish! I love these beans and I especially love to take the leftovers, simmer them on the stovetop with some chicken stock for one mighty fine soup y'all! Delish.

Made similar to red beans and rice, but with much less liquid, resulting in a much thicker, almost stew-like bean dish. If you prefer a thinner bean gravy, just simply use more water and serve them up once they thicken. As the beans sit, they will also continue to thicken, of course. To thin a bit, stir in just a little chicken broth; to make into soup, stir in more. The flavor is already infused into the beans so the broth does not dilute the flavor.

Rinse and sort through the beans, soak overnight or add to a stockpot and cover with water plus about 1 inch. Bring to a boil; boil for 3 minutes uncovered, turn off heat, cover and let soak for one hour. Drain and return to the pot.

Heat canola in a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Quarter and slice sausage into small bite sized pieces, add to hot oil and cook until browned. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to the stockpot with the beans. To the drippings in the skillet, add the bacon and cook until rendered. Remove the bacon, set aside, and add the onion, bell pepper and celery to the skillet. Cook until just browned and beginning to caramelize. Add the garlic and cook another minute. Transfer veggies to the beans and sausage; add the cooked bacon. Deglaze the skillet with a bit of water and scrape up any browned bits. Add that to the bean pot.

Cover everything with fresh water, plus about an inch and a half, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 1-1/2 hours, stirring occasionally, or until beans are tender and gravy is thickened. Add additional water if needed to thin. Stir in the green onion, parsley, Cajun seasoning, salt and pepper and simmer another 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve over hot rice with cornbread and pass the hot sauce at the table.

Cook's Notes: Andouille sausage is a highly spiced smoked sausage that is blended with Cajun spices, adding a spicy kick and great flavor to these dishes. If you substitute kielbasa or other smoked sausages in recipes where it calls for Andouille, it will affect the outcome of your dish and you’ll need to make adjustments in the seasonings you use. I prefer Camellia brand white northern beans.

Beans and Greens: Prepare as above, except at the end of cooking time, stir in 1-1/2 cups (or to taste), cooked and well drained collards, turnip or mustard greens. Canned is fine.

Shrimp and White Beans: At the end of cooking time, add a can of drained Rotel tomatoes, 1/2 pound of fresh, raw, peeled and deveined shrimp and 1 teaspoon Old Bay, cooking until shrimp is completely cooked through.

Variations: Use about a pound of ham hocks, or several ham shanks together with or instead of the andouille, adjust seasonings as needed. Stir in and if desired, .

For Soup: Prepare as above for soaking beans and prepping meats and veggies. Cover beans with fresh water and add in 1 quart of chicken stock or broth. Proceed with recipe, adding more water if needed as they cook. Can also substitute canned white beans - you want 2 to 3, drained and rinsed. Cook only long enough to warm the beans through.

For the Slow Cooker: Rinse, drain and sort through beans. Add the unsoaked beans to a 4-quart or larger slow cooker. Add beans, sauteed sausage and/or shanks or hocks, and veggies to the slow cooker. Cover the beans with 5 to 7 cups of very hot water - you'll need more or less depending on whether you’ve soaked your beans and whether you are using a large ham bone. You want to cover the beans by about an inch or so. Cover and cook on high for 5 to 6 hours, or until the beans are tender. Before serving, stir in the green onion, parsley, Cajun seasoning, salt and pepper, cover and cook another 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Material Disclosure: Unless otherwise noted, you should assume that post links to the providers of goods and services mentioned, establish an affiliate relationship and/or other material connection and that I may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You are never under any obligation to purchase anything when using my recipes and you should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.

39 comments:

My father loved white beans, especially if served on Saturday. Why Saturday? I may never know because he's passed on. My dear mom didn't like to prepare dried beans, so there were "discussions" sometimes, but dad usually won. I'm glad b/c those were good beans. Also good with fried fish.

When in New Orleans try the white beans at Cafe Reconcile. It's a Catholic Charity place, but the food brings in all kinds of people.It's in Central City but famous people eat there quite a bit so it's safe during the day. Best white beans I ever had, besides Mama's of course.

Love this recipe. I'm a fan of white beans so most certainly will give this a try. Wish I had some authentic andouille sausage however. Our Whole Foods has a pretty good version but not like I tasted in New Orleans. Thanks for the recipe.

ROFLMAO Mary, oh gosh you are too funny! The beans look fabulous. I love all kinds of beans and eat them daily. Northern beans are delish, especially Cajun style. I prefer the thick consistency with white beans. Maybe my food preferences are the reason I got along so well moving down here!

Sounds and looks great Mary. For the folks who want to get the benefits of greens, such as kale, but aren't crazy about it, such as Bev, we chop some up and add it to similar white bean dishes and it works very well.

Well now...this looks mighty tasty, I love beans, and with rice...comforting good food..and this has andoulle..so maybe I can get DH to give this a try....Welcome home from San Fran, can't wait to see what you'll cook up...what fun a food conference...is there anything better than that?? Fun & Food...on the agenda...it is all good...

Saw this recipe and it reminded me of the white beans I used to get at my favorite restaurant called Cigars in Grand Isle so I decided to give it a try. It tasted EXACTLY like them!!! My whole family raved about them. Thanks for another perfect recipe!

I have been wanting to try this recipe forever but I was nervous as I had never taken on a recipe that took this long to prepare before. I finally went ahead and made this tonight and am so glad I did. It is beyond wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing!!

I have recently found this blog through pinterest and I am IN LOVE with your recipes. My family is all from Jefferson Parish, right outside New Orleans, and just looking at these recipes brings back so many memories, not to mention the DROOL! Yum! I'm making these for supper tonight.

No lid - you need them to open simmer so that they thicken. Just let them simmer - they should be at a slow bubble! It might actually take a little more time, beans are like that, but just let them keep going. Can you be more specific about what is not turning out & maybe I can help? Let me know if you made any adaptations too!

Mary,I love white beans! My husband doesn't. He says his maternal Grandmother made ham and beans every single week when he was small and he grew a dislike for them. However, he loves mine! I think its all about technique and flavor. This recipe is a winner. I promoted your website again on my fb page. Your recipes are the bomb girl! Thanks for all you do!

Mary,I love white beans! My husband doesn't. He says his maternal Grandmother made ham and beans every single week when he was small and he grew a dislike for them. However, he loves mine! I think its all about technique and flavor. This recipe is a winner. I promoted your website again on my fb page. Your recipes are the bomb girl! Thanks for all you do!

Mary, it's taking forever for my white beans to soften , what am I doing wrong ? My first batch I soaked for about 24 hours and we had to cook the whole batch for about 2hours and they still never softened . I'm making this again because we love this recipe I've soaked the beans for 2 days now and they are still pretty hard . What am I doing wrong ?

"Hard-to-cook" beans... are normal when harvested, but become resistant to softening when they're stored for a long time -- months -- at warm temperatures and high humidities. This resistance results from a number of changes in bean cell walls and interiors, including the formation of woody lignin, the conversion of phenolic compounds into tannins that cross-link proteins to form a water-resistant coating around the starch granules. There's no way to reverse these changes and make hard-to-cook beans as soft as regular beans. And there's no way to spot them before cooking. Once cooked, they're likely to be smaller than normal and so may be picked out before serving."

Adding tomatoes before the beans are cooked can also result in beans never softening.

Thanks for sharing that! I never knew the science behind it but I knew that older beans tend to do that. Like they say though, it's hard to know until you cook them. That's one reason I love Camellia brand dried beans. They are always reliable!

Made this tonight! We loved it! I was short on time so I used 3 cans northern beans (drained and rinsed), a bag of frozen mirepoix mixed veggies, and used chicken stock 3/4 chicken stock, 1/4 water just to cover a little over top once everything was mixed to speed up flavor development. I used Tony Cacheres cajun seasoning, they don't have Slap Ya Momma at my store🙁, plus a little Old Bay-because I love it!(I followed all the other cooking methods) and used Conecuh smoked sausage. Another great recipe, Mary! Thank you! Marie M

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